Toastmasters

As I am always writing speeches nowadays, it’s always good to review the basics of speech structure and story writing. The main difference is, your material will be presented by you verbally instead of read, So I prefer speech writing because I don’t really worry about the exact grammar but concentrate on making points simple, well explained and entertaining.

Like this:

The Eloquence Academy proudly announces the ongoing classes of Cool Communicator & Fear Fighter in the next two weekends. There is still 2 or 3 spaces available for each class and the time table is as follows:

Cool Communicator:

This course enables you to keep your cool when the spotlight’s on you. Besides a more confident self in communication and keeping an audience entralled, one is able to use their gifting and strength to finally be at ease in any social situation.

Fear Fighter:

(Fear of Public Speaking). Understand what FEAR really is and why the stage gets you weak in the knees. This course is designed to get you on the path of breaking those chains of FEAR with inner strength. Goal setting, teamwork and practice. For More Info On Fear Fighter Click Here

10:30 am till 4:00 pm,

Days: Sat 28th July & Sun 29th July (2012)

Location: LG Studio, Tropicana Golf & Country Club.

Contact: 012 3858766 – Mdm Laychi

Email: info@eloquenceacademy.com

Course Fee: RM 700 per student.

==================================

We look forward to seeing your fresh faces joining us. Remember, communication skills are one of the few daily used skills that are transferable from home to the office and even in your personal life. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Like this:

Good day to all my fellow toastmasters, new visitors and friends. My name is Royce Tan and I am here today to properly introduce myself as a new member of the TTDI Toastmasters Club. I am also going to give you an idea of my life so far and hopefully get a head start on our future friendships.

Body:

Part 1: Today is special for me as it marks the beginning of another journey, my journey as a Toastmaster. Let me share with you though, about my experience with Public Speaking as a skill. There was once upon a time not too long ago, when I was known as the quietest boy in school. As a child I was an introvert and shy of character. It also didn’t help that the color of my skin was very dark, I wore large 80’s grandpa glasses that covered half of my face and I was shaped like a small prepubescent sumo. My nickname was the ‘Black Doraemon’.

Part 2: As you can imagine, I did not have very much self-confidence with social interactions let alone public speaking. In primary school I would walk into the canteen and stand near the vending machines to buy drinks and pretend to look at my watch for the tenth time just to avoid any human contact. I would prefer to get lost in my world of Enid Blyton books than interact with the world around me. Due to this apparent love for stories, my mother thought “hmm you should be a natural story-teller then.” I was unaware that it was the sentence that would bring about one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.

Part 3: I was only 8 years old, clueless to the idea of human rights and standing up for yourself. My only thought was that I had no choice and I am supposed to do what I’m told. My mother chose for me the story of the Mooncake Princess, which I was completely unfamiliar with yet taken by my mother’s rendition of it. I tried practicing my storytelling but memorizing a whole story was extremely difficult at the time. Then came the deadline, the venue was the National Library of Malaysia itself! I remember waiting for my turn amongst hundreds of people. They called my name and I tried running to the exit. My mother grabbed my hand and, with a furious undertone, demanded that I go on stage. I stepped into the limelight and stared at the crowd of shadows. My legs were not just shaking, they were vibrating; and my heartbeat was in my throat. I only managed 3 sentences. “Good morning judges, parents and all my friends. T-t-today I want to tell you about…er..the Mooncake Princess and the legend.”

*Loong Pause*

I was close to tears and muttered “Thank You” and ran off stage as fast as my jelly legs could. That experience scarred me for life, yet strangely became my motivation to avoid ever enduring such humiliation again. At 13, I hit puberty and looked less like Doraemon, I started high school where I met like minded friends that helped me feel more accepted. My mother enrolled me for a short course in public speaking which became a gradual practice for most of my teenage life. The skill fully blossomed when I went to college and was recognized enough to be made emcee and then given a job during my university career.

Conclusion:

Many years later I stand before you, still a little boy at heart but with much more enthusiasm to do this and a lot more confidence to keep me from running for the door. I know my journey is far from over and I am here because I know there is so much more to learn. I appreciate your time for listening and I hope for us to get to know each other better as each meeting comes and goes.

Like this:

The Ladies at Crystal Toastmasters Women’s Club has kindly given Laychi Low the honor of being the emcee of the night. The theme set for the night was “Fantasy” and Laychi went as the Spanish Flamenco Dancer whilst Royce went as Julius Caesar.

The night’s purpose was to see the installation of the 2012/2013’s new office bearers of the club and to thank the past year’s officials for their hard work. As you can see there were lots of fun as the members cheered their new title holders. The ladies also put on a performance of Proud Mary (Rolling Down The River).

Using the theme of fantasy, Laychi cleverly brought a mirror up to the stage to use as her speech notes. She began with “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Tell me who is the next president amongst them all…” Looks of approval came from the ladies as they were surely entertained. A great use of props all in all.

Like this:

This is Royce here and I would like to announce that I have finally joined Toastmasters to go straight for the Gold title. I have been moving back and forth between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur that I have not had the chance to commit myself to consistent club meetings and earn my title.

The time has now come to do so and I am very excited to prove myself.

The club that I have chosen is the TTDI Toastmasters which I have included the link to in the links section.

So the first speech that I will have to do ever, is known as the Icebreaker speech. It is interesting because technically any speech you do with a new crowd is an icebreaker speech. The hope here is that the audience immediately breaks their frosty attitudes towards you. I have yet to write up my actual speech and I will have to deliver it on the 4th of July.

Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more
about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories and conversational language – that way you won’t easily forget what to say.

Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.

Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.

Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.

Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. (“One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.

Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.

Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it.

Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.

Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need in a safe and friendly environment.